I'm just finishing up the last week of the JWJ summer institute and I wanted to share my experiences. At the risk of sounding preachy, I'd like to give my thoughts.

1. UM is a great school. I can't begin to tell you how much I have enjoyed my time here. The instructors are interesting, the campus beautiful and the city is amazing. I cannot begin to say how grateful I am to be coming here.

2. Be prepared for the fact that law school is like high school. Although the majority of the people that I met here were great, there was some drama. There was a ton of gossip, people talked behind everyone's back and there was a great deal of immaturity. It is also amazing how some of the people actually were accepted to UM.

3. Be sure to take a break before law school. If you have a job, leave early. We only took 3 courses, but the work was intense. Multiply it by three and it is evident that we won't be having a break until Christmas. Be sure to take time off when you can.

Just my thoughts. Hope everyone is having a great summer. Be sure to enjoy it.

hey croquetdc, i was wondering

from the three classes you have taken, do you feel that law school will be difficult in terms of understanding the material or will it be difficult in terms of there being a lot of work? Also, do you feel that you will be at an advantage because of the classes you have taken?

as far as the gossip goes, i have heard that students in one section don't really get a chance to meet students in other sections (at least for the first year).

i am not sure about how others are feeling, but there are some days when i am really excited about attending Miami, then there are days when i dread it (nothing against the school, but just the idea of attending law school).

i think the Health Insurance is automatically charged to your account in the Fall semester unless you show proof of other insurance beforehand. I remember reading that somewhere, but I cant find it now online, so i'm not too sure..

goingtomiami: That sounds about right during rush hour.. but it should be more like 15 minutes without..

djladyjo, thanks for the info!

so it is safe to assume that the backroads get congested during rush-hour as well, right?

Oh and does anyone know when UM will be mailing out info about the health insurance? I didn't see anything in the orientation packet. And, do they bill us in the fall or has it already been included in the total cost of attendence? (I think it's the later, but I want to be sure, for budgeting purposes)

i thought the university health ins. plan was optional? i currently have blueshield/bluecross as an individual - i pay about $75/month for health ins.

also i think i will be finalizing on a place in brickell. i know it has been discussed before but what are the commute times to brickell? i was told that i could take coral way/miracle mile and some other backroads - and following this route it would take me about 20 - 30 mins. Does this sound right?

was looking throuh my mail and it looks like all of my loans have been approved. miami even sent me the certification letters.

it looks like the disbursement date is 8/5. i wonder why this is the case. classes don't start until the 19th. so if a person was to pull out before then, i would hope they would still get a full refund - right?

okay, now i'm petrified of hurricanes. Is it too late to accept my other offers? I've heard this is supposed to be the worst hurricane season yet. Considering we already have a tropical storm, i'm inclined to agree.

I think I'll make my own bar lock-in. Who needs running water when you have vodka?!

the thunderstorms are just as bad. just this past week while driving on route 1 palm tree leaves kept breaking off onto the windshield of my car.

what should i do once i finish my apps for my loans. i recently finished the online applications for both the stafford and private loan. i signed both electronically. do i need to do anything else? it said that i need to wait for certification from the school - is that all i need to do? do i need to send in a signed hardcopy?